“Courage!” She whispers
to the closed daffodil.
“But it’s cold and dark,”
the sleepy flower shivers.
She twinkles in the dew.
“Courage! Come out,
watch the sunrise!”
“Courage!” She calls
to the geese honking.
“This is a long journey,”
they observe in unison.
She gusts in their direction.
“Courage! Stay together as
pursue your northern home!”
“Courage!” She ripples
to the sandy mole crab.
“The gulls pounce quickly,”
and it scurries backward.
She breaks with a wave.
“Courage! Dig and dance
in these ebbs and flows.”
“Courage!” She whispers
when I am closed up tight.
“Courage!” She calls when
I am distracted by noise.
“Courage!” She ripples
when I resist the dance.
“Take courage, dear one.”